A collection of short stories by Ivan Raley

They saw her walking on the side of the road, it was cold, rainy and just a miserable day; John looked at his wife and she nodded yes so he pulled over and his wife asked the young lady if she would like a ride, she hesitated but the weather was terrible and she was so cold, so she ran, opened the back door and got into the car.

John introduced himself to her, telling her he was the pastor of a small church just out of the city, his wife told her that she was Carla and asked where she was headed. The girl said that her name was Nancy and she was on her way to work at the I Hop about a mile down the road.

It didn’t take them long to discover that Nancy was a single girl from out of town, trying to make a living and start a life. She lived about three miles from the restaurant and walked to work six days each week, she had left home when her mother died and was trying to begin a new life, new friends, new world, and new direction. The direction was new but nothing else had worked, but she was still determined.

They let her out at the restaurant, talked between them about her, then his wife prayed for Nancy and they were home.

That night about eleven Carla asked John if they should not go to the restaurant and give Nancy a ride home, he agreed and thus began a journey of six years which saw a young lady mature, get an education, fall in love with a great guy, marry and start her own career and family.

Sure there were set backs and difficulties to overcome, sure there were even times of almost giving up, disappointments, failure, frustration, but then there is: Nothing like having Real Neighbors.